China: Oil spreads over 400km2 of sea surface from a pipeline explosion

The oil pipeline explosion last Friday in China caused oil to spread from one of the country's largest ports to 430 square kilometers, forcing beaches to close, seriously threatening marine life. and water quality.

A firefighter is rescuing a teammate stuck between thick oil spills.

The biggest oil spill incident in China began five days before an oil pipeline in Dalian port, Liaoning province, northeastern China exploded, causing a big fire. It takes up to 15 hours to control the fire. Hundreds of boats have been mobilized to clean up the oil slick.

According to Xinhua, at least 1 firefighter was killed when involved in cleaning up oil.

Oil has spread over 400 km ² sea ​​surfaces.

The beaches near Dalian, once called the city worth living in China, are now closed because oil began to spread to the coast.

"Oil slicks will seriously threaten marine animals, water quality and marine birds," said Huang Yong, an official with the China Maritime Safety Bureau.

Greenpeace China, an environmental organization, has published a lot of oil photos on the coast this week, including a picture of a man covered in dense oil, flooding his chin. A worker covered with oil was taken away by other colleagues.

The volume of oil spilled after the explosion is still unknown, although China Central Television estimates about 1,500 tons of oil. This amount is equivalent to 400,000 gallons - still just a fraction of BP's 94 million to 184 million gallon oil.

The cause of the pipeline explosion is not yet clear. The pipeline is owned by China's national oil company, Asia's largest oil and gas producer (in terms of volume).

Add some pictures of the oil spill:

Source: AFP